Rosalba Carriera: Woman Artist!

My focus, unintentionally of course, has been primarily on male artists and their work. This week I have chosen a female artist by the name of Rosalba Carriera. I do plan to add more female artists to this site in the future, but finding information about their work is very difficult. I can only imagine it was because most often they were discarded and kept in the background during the 1700's and 1800's for various reasons. I am sure I could find a present day artist suitable for an article here and there, though. I am not too worried about it. Anyway, without further ado ~~ Rosalba Carriera . . .

I have spent more hours viewing her work than reading about her background, I'm afraid. This is mainly due to the fact that her works are so beautiful. She worked in pastels and oils as far as I could see, but I'm sure other mediums were incorporated in her portfolio along the way. I enjoyed her pastel works best, myself. Her ability to create such soft features in her portrait leaves you with such a sense of harmony as you browse through each selection. You can't help but to smile as you imagine the stories behind the subjects she has chosen.

She was born in 1675 in Venice, Italy where she taught her sisters to paint and mentored many other artists. She was considered a genius by many and eventually became a member of the Academy of St. Luke in Rome, Bologna and Florence. This is considered an exceptional feat at that time because women were not welcome in formal institutions at that time. Her work in Italy gained her a very successful reputation, so it's no wonder the Academy would accept her. She became one of the few renowned women artists of her time popularizing the pastel portrait and the Rococo style. Several sites currently host online exhibits featuring her work. You can view them using the following links:

· Artcyclopedia.com
· Rosalba Carriera
· Illustrations: Historical Women Artists
· CGFA - Rosalba Carriera: Felecita Sartori
· Carriera

I would love to feature an example of her work with this article, but unfortunately I'm still not able to use my computer for working online yet. I'll be sure to update these articles with images once that changes, though. Until then, I hope the links I provided with her images will do. Questions and/or comments about this article are welcomed in the discussion area or in the guestbook found on the main page.

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